Casting apparatus



wIII-l.I|-| -/.IIIIIII -IIIIJ H. HERMANNS.

CASTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30,1919.

Patented May 9,1922.

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HUBERT HERMANNS, OF BERLIN-PANKOVI, GERMANY.

'cAsfrrNe APPARATUS.

Application filed. April 30,

To @ZZ "zc/'tom it may concern:

Bc it known that I, HUBERT HERMANN, a subject of the German Emperor, and resident of Berlin-Pankow, lGermany, havev invented certain new and useful improvements in (lasting Apparatus, (for which T have filed applications in Germany May 8, 1917, and in Lunemburg Feb. 23, 1918,) of which the following is a specification.

ln foundry works, especially in large steel works which operate according to the relining process in the open hearth as well as in such vplants which 'employ the converting process, the casting according to the heretofore used processes offers great diiiiculties. This is duc to the fact that the generally employed arrangements for the conveying of the ladles and for using their contents for casting have the drawback of being'l unable to raise the output or yield of the plant beyond a certain value. Among other things this is a feature which limits the quantitative increase of the charges for the converters and the furnaces, although such an increase considered for itself is much to be desired. Large individual yields, in order to secure a large total yield, require a smaller iuunber of travels between the converting devices and the casting places. Especially when using the converter-process, which ordinarily employs a casting ladle travelling on the iioor of the steel plant, the conveyance of the liouid steel to the casting places becomes difficult, by reason of the crossing of the wagons, of which one carries the filled ladle from the converters to the casting Hoor, while the other returns with the emptied ladle. This crossing of the wagons must be enabled by employing a switching stage. This mode of operationI results in a considerable loss of time and on account of the necessity of employing two to three casting wagons 'and a switching` stage, causes a'high first cost as well as high expenses for wages, power, repairs, interests and amortization. In addition to this there are various disadvantages connected with this process, such as intermittent operation of casting, large floor space for the steelworks and finally the source of danger resulting from the casting wagon which travels through the foundry and from the recessed switching stage. In steelworks operating according to the process of refining in the open hearth, the difliculties are mainly overcome by the employment of several travelling cranes which for Sp ecication of Letters Patent.

Patent-ed May 9, 15h22.,

1919. Serial No. 293,839.

this purpose are arranged at the same or at a different height. In this case likewise, it is impossible to avoid mutual interference of the travelling cranes and the first cost and operating expenses will also be high. Similar conditions are found in most foundries.

. My invention is designed to obviate these difliculties, and more particularly in such a manner that the casting material is conveyed to the casting place by devices different from those performing the casting. ri novel and essential feature of my invention consist furthermore therein, that the casting into the cast iron moulds is accomplished through a stationary casting device which is adapted to perform a swinging motion, whereby a travelling conveyance supplies the liquid casting material to said casting device, while ythe moulds are moved along said stationary casting device. It is advantageous to Construct the casting machine in such a way that the one end of the fork holds the filled ladle, while a second ladle is held in the other end of the fork, and after having discharged its vcontents of cast steel into the cast iron moulds, will now let off the slag into especially provided slag wagons. 3y this l obtain the advantage that the work to be done by the wagons'will be largely reduced and likewise the cost of construction and operation. Furthermore there will be less danger of accidents and in addition an essential increase of the casting capacity of the plant and continuity of service is secured.

In the accompanying drawingl l have shown an example of carrying my inventions into effect with a steelplant operating according tothe Thomas process. For purposes of this illustration, l have shown only two converters, a; and of, in the drawing, but the' break in the plan view of the converter room between said two converters is intended to indicate thatas many others as desired may be interposed therebetween.

'The carrying wagon travels on the track c which is arranged in the usual manner on the fio'or of the' steel plant in front of the converters. For attaining greater safety of operation there is provided a further carryin wagon b', which on the one hand serves vas a reserve and on the other hand may be being equipped with the jibs or outriggers e yand f. The casting device may be constructed according to the special operating conditions in various ways, for instance it may be equipped with one or two ibs, with or without a lifting mechanism and as a rule with a contrivance for tipping the ladle. The ingots are cast in the known manner in cast iron moulds, or so-called chills, standing upon the wagons, which latter are moved forward by means of a shifting mechanism 0 below the `iib c. The empty moulds are conveyed to the casting places by any suitable vehicle on the track t. On the track g the moulds together with their ingots are carried to the stationary stripper c', which may be operated hydraulically or electrically. The tracks and m serve for the discharge of the slag from the ladles. The prolonged track n running into the track g for the discharge of the ingots is an emergency track, which may be used in case of failure ot the casting device d. The shifting machine 0 is operated from the stand p. From the casting table the casting of the ingots may be controlled, The operation will now be as follows. rlhe carrying jwagon coming from the converters a with the lilled ladle is moved towards the jib f of the casting machine l in such a manner that the ibs on either side will form an uninterrupted travelling path for the ladles. By means ot a suitable shifting device the ladle is moved upon the jib f and a new ladle, upon arrival., is hung into the jib or' the carrying wagon through the crane, which serves ttor conveying the ladle. By this the carrying wagon b will be ready for the reception of a new charge. As soon as the ladle resting upon the jib c is emptied, the casting device will be swung around an angle ot 180 degrees, so that now the ladle suspended from the jib f will be positioned above the casting track, which enables the casting to be started immediately. By the tipping mechanism for the ladles the slag,

which is contained in an emptied ladle, will be discharged into a slag wagon, which travels upon a track preferably arranged below the floor of the plant, and thereupon the ladle is llifted through the ladle crane provided for this purpose. The cast ingots together with their moulds are vconveyed. upon the track by means of a shifting mechanism o for the wagons to the stripper i and again moved back into the vtrack It,

when in empty condition. The room for the moulds is equipped according to the demand with one or more ingot cranes ci' known construction for the exchange o1c the moulds. For the case where the casting machine Z becomes out ot operating condition, the track c is connected through a prolonged part n with the track g. rlhe casting may now be effected immediately through the carrying wagon b, so that the operation of the plant may be maintained to a limited extent, especially since the reserve wagon b will yet be available for carrying on the casting` for a part of the steel production in the casting pit Z. The slag from the ladles is carried away upon the track mi.

ln a similar manner the casting process is Acarried out in steel works and other foundry plants having cranes travelling upon a track in elevated position. ln this case the cranes form solely the connecting link between the converting and smelting equipment and the plant for the casting proper.

Having thus described my invention, l

desire to claim as new and to secure by Letv ters Patent:

l. In apparatus of the character described, the combination ot' a melting turnace, a casting device, means for transferrin g ladles from said furnace to said casting device, a mold carrier and means for moving molds on said carrier to and from said casting device, a slag receiver movable toand from said casting device, and means forming part of said casting device for positioning ladles selectively either over said mold'carrier or over said slag` receiver.

2. In ,apparatus of the character described, the combination of a melting furnace, a casting device, a track between said furnace and caid casting device, a ladle carrier movable on said track, a mold carrier and a track on which saidr carrier is movable to'land from said casting device, a slag receiver and a track on which said receiver is movable to and from said casting device, and means forming part of said casting device for positioning` ladles selectively either over the track on which said mold carrier is movable, or over that on which said slag receiver is movable.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set my signature.

HUBERT nnnininns. 

